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State Minister with responsibility for Local Government Reform, Hon. Robert Montague has informed that a solar/wind energy system will be installed at the Falmouth infirmary, in Trelawny, to reduce operating cost.
“The tender is out to acquire that system and based on this experiment, we will be able to roll out this technology in other infirmaries,” he told the House of Representatives during his contribution to the 2010/11 Sectoral Debate on October 26.
It is expected that the initiative will enable the institution to generate electricity for use in its daily operations utilising natural resources, such as the wind and the sun.
“We have collaborated with the Ministry of Mining and Energy and we have conducted a study (on the operations) of our infirmaries and we have discovered that 22 per cent of the operating cost of our infirmaries is related to energy,” he said.
In the meantime, he noted that the Local Government Department continues to benefit from a grant assistance programme from the European Union for the rehabilitation of the parochial road network.
“We have collaborated with the European Union Banana Support Programme in some six banana producing parishes. These include: St. James, St. Thomas, Portland, St. Mary, Clarendon and St. Catherine. We have spent some Euros1.93 million on various projects in these communities,” the State Minister said.
The project is multi-faceted and involves skills training, institutional strengthening of community organisations and infrastructure works, such as improvement to water supply systems, building community centres, refurbishing basic schools and rehabilitation of community main roads.